Heritage Square

The late 19th Century was a time of tremendous change for
the Unites States and California. It was the end of the
industrial revolution, and a world of knowledge and ideas
was rapidly unfolding, merging old and new, foreign and familiar.

The country was quickly transforming into a modern nation
equipped with efficient transportation, communications and
distribution of mass produced goods. The southern California
land boom, resulted in proliferation of new and elaborately
eclectic architecture throughout Los Angeles.
Today that architecture, characterized by gabled roofs,
windowed turrets, and intricately carved balustrades, is
threatened with extinction by a developing society.

In reaction to the destruction of irreplaceable buildings,
a group of prominent citizens, with the assistance of the Los
Angeles Culural Heritage Board, began planmng a haven for
such structures. As a result, Heritage Square Museum
was established in 1969 by the Cultural Heritage Foundation
of Southern California, Inc., and has become a vital part
of the historic preservation movement in Southern Califomia.
Located on the bank of the historic Arroyo Seco, the
museum site ties within the city's original Spanish
land grant in 1781 of four square leagues for the
Pueblo de Los Angeles.

Heritage Square, an open air museum, is devoted to
the preservation, restoration, and interpretation
of southern Cafifomia!s history. Historically and
architecturally significant buildings which cannot
be preserved at their original location, are relocated to the
village-like setting of Heritage Square Museum, restored,
displayed, and interpreted to the public.
The Museum's collections, exhibits, and programs
present the story of everyday life in Los Angeles,
during the years 1865 to 1914.

Hours

The Museum is open to the public every Saturday,
Sunday, and most holiday Mondays. The Museum gates
open at 12:00 noon. Hourly Guided tours of the museum
provide visitors with a lively, historical view of Southern
Califomia's Victorian past. Tours leave Palms Depot
fifteen minutes past each hour. The first tour starts at
12:15 p.m., and the last at 3:15 p.m. No visitors can be
admitted to the Museum after the final tour has departed.
The Museum grounds close at 4:00 p.m.